Saturday, January 3, 2009

Richardson relishes moment

Freshman Sean Richardson scored Vanderbilt's only touchdown of the Music City Bowl, a serendipitous play that will forever live in the chapters of Commodore history.

With Vanderbilt trailing 7-6 in the third quarter, Brett Upson's punt bounced off the knee of Boston College's Paul Anderson, causing a scramble for the ball that ended with Richardson getting his first collegiate touchdown.

“It was a great moment,” Richardson told the Demopolis Times. “I just knew it was a touchdown because I saw the ball hit the opponent. As the referees were going over what really happened, I heard them say ‘touchdown.’”

Richardson was one of three true freshmen to see action this season (along with Casey Hayward and John Cole). He played second team strong safety in every game and also contributed on special teams, earning Specialist of the Week honors following Florida and Kentucky games for effort on coverage units.

Richardson should compete for the starting strong safety job in the spring with the graduation of Reshard Langford.